Lab Director

Dr.  Larissa (Lacie) Barber received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and her Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology (Minor in Research Methodology) from Saint Louis University.  She conducts research in the fields of occupational health and industrial-organizational psychology with a focus on employee stress and well-being issues. Her research is published in peer-reviewed outlets such as the Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Stress & Health, Organizational Research Methods, and the Journal of Organizational Behavior. 

Dr. Barber is an internationally recognized leader in research on work-life balance and sleep issues surrounding the use of information and communication technologies in the workplace. Her work on workplace telepressure has shaped both academic and popular news discussions about how the felt need to respond immediately to work emails and texts immediately can be detrimental to work recovery and feelings of burnout. She has received grant funding from the Society of Human Resource Management Foundation to study the effectiveness of "disconnection" policies, as well as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to study telework practices and well-being. She received an Early Career Achievement Award for exceptional early career contributions to the science of occupational health psychology. She served as an Associate Editor at the journal Stress & Health and is currently on the Editorial Board at the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Occupational Health Science, Stress & Health, and the Journal of Business and Psychology.  In 2023, she was recognized as a Fellow in the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology based on her significant research contributions.

She joined the SDSU Department of Psychology faculty in Fall 2018. She teaches courses related to the undergraduate major in I-O psychology and in the M.S. Program in Applied Psychology.  Topics include organizational psychology, personnel psychology, and organizational research methods. Before joining SDSU, she was an associate professor at Northern Illinois University (Social and Industrial-Organizational Psychology Ph.D. program). Course topics included occupational health psychology, industrial-organizational psychology, research methods, and positive psychology.  She has received three Instructional Resource Awards from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology for projects related to ethics training for participants and internship resources. She also received a 2015 Faculty Mentor Award from the NIU Research Rookies Program. 

Dr. Barber has collaborated with the American Psychological Association‘s Center for Organizational Excellence to provide evidence-based resources on workplace issues for managers and employees. She also provides consultation to organizations in the areas of worker well-being, quantitative data analysis, and organizational assessment.  At SDSU, she works with the Center for Human Resources to provide assessment and training support for the telecommuting program among staff members. She also trains faculty search committees on effective and inclusive selection practices as part of her role as a Fellow for Equity-Minded Faculty Hiring in the Center for Inclusive Excellence.  She has also worked with the Office of Faculty Advancement and Student Success to provide training and resources for managing boundaries around virtual work for better well-being among faculty and staff members. Her professional affiliations include the American Psychological Association, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Society for the Teaching of Psychology, and the Society for Occupational Health Psychology.